SAVING AN ADAMS CLASS DDG
PART ONE
OCTOBER 28, 2003
1030 HOURS
GOOD MORNING TO ALL,
My sound and security watch (the cat) woke me up about 0530 today and after I checked emails I decided it was time to get this general update started. This is going to be old hat for some of you but please hang in there. I am hoping this letter will make it to all former crew members of all 23 Adams Class DDGs.

I am Thomas E. Crosser a former crew member of the USS Buchanan DDG-14, 1966-1968. The Buchanan was sunk as a target in June of 2000 so today I am loyal only to her memory and to the Adams Class of DDGs. I am going to talk about restoration and preservation of the USS Adams DDG-2, the lead ship of her class.

STATUS OF EACH ADAMS CLASS SHIP:

Adams DDG-2 as lead ship of the class is on Donation Hold status. The Navy is holding her for use as a Museum Ship. The current group of record trying to raise the $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 the Navy requires before it will release a ship is the Saginaw Valley Naval Ship Museum located in Bay City, MI. The group is composed of former USS Adams crew members and interested others. The Adams is located in the Philly Reserve Fleet.

USS John King DDG-3 was scrapped.

USS Lawrence DDG-4 is located in the Philly Reserve Fleet.

USS Claude V. Rickets DDG-5 was scrapped.

USS Barney DDG-6 is located in the Philly Reserve Fleet. There is a group trying to get the Barney placed in a Miami-Dade Museum in Florida but the word from NavSea at this time is that the Adams is the only ship of her class that is currently available for donation.

USS Henry B. Wilson DDG-7 was sunk.

USS Lynde McCormick DDG-8 was sunk.

USS Towers DDG-9 was sunk.

USS Sampson DDG-10 was scrapped.

USS Sellers DDG-11 was scrapped.

USS Robison DDG-12 was scrapped.

USS Hoel DDG-13 was converted to a power barge in Brazil.

USS Buchanan DDG-14 was sunk.

USS Berkeley DDG-15 was transferred to Greece and decommissioned 7-29-02.

USS Joseph Strauss DDG-16 was transferred to Greece and decommissioned 2-18-02.

USS Conyngham DDG-17 was scrapped.

USS Semmes DDG-18 was transferred to Greece.

USS Tattnall DDG-19 was scrapped.

USS Goldsborough DDG-20 was sold to Australia and cannibalized.

USS Cochrane DDG-21 was scrapped.

USS Benjamin Stoddert DDG-22 was enroute to scrap, took on water and sunk.

USS Richard E. Byrd DDG-23 was sold to Greece for spare parts and then sunk.

USS Waddell DDG-24 was transferred to Greece and decommissioned 7-18-03.

The German Navy and the Royal Australian Navy each had three Adams Class type ships but they were all built for and went directly to those Navies. They were never US Navy ships.

As seen above, there were five Adams Class ships that were loaned or sold to the Greek Navy. One was used only for parts for the other four. Bringing a ship back from a foreign country has been done before. There have been successes and failures. If a ship is returned from a foreign country for use in a museum and that effort fails, the Navy does not give that ship a second chance. That ship goes straight to the scrapper. A ship that was never out of US hands is often given a second chance if the first restoration and preservation effort fails.
There are two ships currently on the NavSea Ship Donation Program web site that are being Redonated.

EVERYONE NEEDS TO LOOK AT THE NAVSEA SITE AND DO IT COMPLETELY. WE WILL NEED THIS INFORMATION AS WE TRY TO SAVE THE ADAMS. www.navsea.navy.mil/ndp/

The latest info from NavSea states that the Adams is still on Donation Hold and that the only other Adams Class DDGs left are the USS Lawrence DDG-4 and the USS Barney DDG-6. Per NavSea, the Lawrence is next in line for the scrapper to be followed by the Barney. Just now long these two ships have before the scrapper gets them is something I do not know. The real worry here is that if we are going to save the USS Adams, we may very well need the other two for parts that are either missing or broken on the Adams. Finding parts after these two are gone will be nest to impossible.

THIS IS THE END OF PART ONE, PART TWO WILL FOLLOW IN THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

PLEASE PASS THIS TO ANY AND ALL FORMER ADAMS CLASS CREW MEMBERS.

IF ANYONE HAS INFORMATION YOU FEEL NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE UPDATE, PLEASE EMAIL ME THAT INFO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

PART TWO:
WILL CONTAIN INFORMATION ON THE CONDITION OF ALL THREE ADAMS CLASS DDGs IN PHILLY AS I BELIEVE THEM TO BE.
IT WILL CONTAIN INFORMATION ON THE CURRENT EFFORTS TO SAVE THE ADAMS AND THE BARNEY, A LEAST THE INFORMATION I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GATHER UP TO THIS POINT.

TOM CROSSER

SAVING AN ADAMS CLASS DDG
PART TWO
OCTOBER 28, 2003
1830 HOURS
GOOD AFTERNOON TO ALL,

To recap Part One contained the following:
The current status of all 23 Adams Class DDGs.
Info about German and Australian ships.
Info about bringing back a ship from a foreign country.
NavSea Donation Program web address.
Info about the Adams being on Donation Hold and the group trying to save it.
Info about the Barney and the group trying to save it.

About a year ago, the Adams Confederation site published a letter from an assistant curator at Battleship Cove Naval Park in Boston. His duties are the preservation and restoration of the USS J.P. Kennedy DD-850. This man gave us his personal observation of the Adams Class DDGs he had seen in Philly.

We were told the following:
1. By far the best ships are the Sampson and the Sellers; they are very clean, intact, and in generally great shape.
2. Sampson is better with interior paint being in very very good shape.
3. We did remove some equipment from both ships.
4. Save one of these ships as the Adams is looking pretty bad.
5. Adams was stripped by USS Kennedy DD-850 and USS Edson DD-946 some 5-10 years ago.
6. Sampson would surely be the best choice.
7. If you want either of these ships, you better contact the Navy donation program office quick as they are both going up for bid to scrappers this month. (2002)
8. That leaves Lawrence and Barney.
9. Barney is pretty well stripped but Lawrence is not to bad at all. We boarded both ships and checked them out rather fully.

On July 15th of this year I got the following email from this same man in answer to my questions about any updated info he might have:

Thomas,
Thank you for the email. Since sending that email to your group, we have been back to Philly and once again boarded all CFA class destroyers except ADAMS herself.

Unfortunately, USS Sampson has been sent to the scrap yard and her destruction is well underway, thus removing the best conditioned US CFA from museum possibility. Thus, I would now turn my efforts towards Sellers as she is still there and in better shape than any other CFA we boarded in April 2003.

Lawrence and Barney are also still pierside but Barney is REALLY stripped out. We again removed equipment from both ships (what little we could find on Barney). Basically, we removed all of Barney's ASROC UB plot station. Lawrence is still the better of the two but not better than SELLERS.

ADAMS is severely weather beaten but I cant say how much is gone from her as we havent been on her in years but I know Edson and Kennedy took items a long while ago.

In my personal opinion, the foreign CFA's will be expensive to bring back and once back will not have the safety net to catch them called the USN if they fail. American museum ships that come from the USN are returned to USN when the museum fails and given another chance. Foreign ships (ex-US) go right to the scrap yard when they fail as the USN wants nothing to do with them. Great example is USS Cabot and USS Orleck struggling in Orange, TX.

What needs to be done... Its not easy saving a ship and gathering money to do so. You need to find a home for her and keep her up. Everyone needs to be on the same page. My suggestion is that your organization get the ADAMS and BARNEY people and the other ships to sit down and say.. which ship is the best condition and would give us the best chance to succeed. You don’t want to start off behind the eight ball.

After everyone is on the same page, you guys could visit the ships and see for yourselves which are in the best condition. I will assume you pick either Sellers or Lawrence. All missing equipment from say SELLERS can now be obtained by stripping it off the other 3-4 ships present to make a complete ship. This also makes more unity for the group as all these ships get combined into one for museum purposes.

Time is quickly running out for these ships. I will assume that Sellers is next to go. The scrapper makes more money cutting up more complete ships as they can sell the artifacts inside as collectibles. By the end of 2004, I see all CFA ships gone and possibly the Farragut class DDGs as well. Beside the cutters torch, you are competing against museums such as us who remove tons of equipment.

Kennedy removed asroc, radio, sonar, bunks, furniture, etc from the CFA and Farragut class ships just last month. We do this to preserve the history of cold war ships as we are currently the only ship actively returning ourselves to a 1960s configuration. We also adopt the CFA and newer ship crews to work aboard 850 and help preserve destroyer histories. We are proud to have them with us.

In short, make one ship out of the 4 remaining but start with the best one. You don’t want to haul loads of parts around if you don’t have to.

The Forrest Sherman group is trying to save their ship because it was their ship and putting 3 931 class ships within a few hundred miles of each other. That makes no sense.. first they are all the same.. second Forrest Sherman is a wreck. However, they got her on donation hold. It would be better to sacrifice 931 for a CFA. At least having CFA herself on donation hold is a good thing.. if everyone gets behind her that’s great. She doesn’t have to go to Michigan, maybe somewhere else but maybe that is what your group should do. At least you could go aboard ADAMS, see what she is missing, and acquire it from the other ships before they are scrapped and Adams is by herself.

If you need more info, let me know. Please let me know what you folks decide to do. We can provide some support to you guys if need be and we have knowledgeable ship guys that can help choose a ship.

To answer your last question, the USN would allow a organization interested in saving a ship to visit and decide which one they want. Thus maybe the CFA confederation can unify together and make this decision. If the confederation is interested, let me know, and I will see what contacts I can dig up.
Rich Angelini

The email above was written over 90 days ago and now NavSea says only the Adams, Lawrence, and Barney are left. I was told the scrappers bid on the most complete ships first as they return the most for their bid dollars.

THE FOLLOWING IS THE LATEST ON THE EFFORTS OF THE SAGINAW VALLEY NAVAL SHIP MUSEUM TO SAVE OR NOT SAVE THE USS ADAMS DDG-2 AND THE GROUP TRYING TO SAVE THE USS BARNEY DDG-6.

It appears that the Saginaw Valley group of Bay City, MI has thrown in the towel on their effort to save the USS Adams DDG-2. On Sunday the 19th this was on their site, but is not there now. The site says they are after the Adams but inside info has said that is not correct. The question of what will happen to money given in the name of the Adams because the Adams was their stated goal has not been answered.

At the same time, the USS Intrepid CV-11 museum in New York appears to be close to wanting to give up the USS Edson DD-946 in favor of a larger ship, one that will bring in more visitors and therefore more money. On the Edson yahoo site there is talk that the Edson might go to MI. Did anyone notice that the Saginaw Valley group of Bay City is in MI?
The Edson was to have gone into drydock on the 20th for hull inspection according to their yahoo site. The Edson crew appears to be scrambling to gather forces to save their ship.

The Barney group whose stated goal is to place the USS Barney DDG-6 in the Miami-Dade museum is still collecting money for that purpose. As late as last week the word from NavSea was that the Adams and only the Adams was on Donation Hold status. The person emailing from NavSea stated that Miami-Dade was no longer interested in the Barney.

Emails to Saginaw Valley and to the Miami-Dade museum have not been returned. Emails from Edson crew members said to look at their yahoo site.

There was talk about sending a rep from each Adams Class to Bay City to try and keep them from dropping the Adams but it looks like the Saginaw Valley membership has made their choice.

It would appear that the Adams Class Crews must now join forces and do it yesterday or there will be no Adams Class DDG on display anywhere.

EACH AND EVERY ADAMS CLASS SAILOR
MUST JOIN HIS SHIP'S ASSOCIATION
ALL THE SHIP ASSOCIATIONS
MUST JOIN
THE "CHARLES F. ADAMS CLASS DDG CONFEDERATION"

THE CONFEDERATION MUST SHOW THAT IT IS A UNITED GROUP REPRESENTING ALL SHIPS AND ALL CREW MEMBERS AND THEN APPLY TO NAVSEA TO TAKE THE PLACE OF THE SAGINAW VALLEY GROUP. IT IS EITHER THIS OR WATCH THE ADAMS BE USED AS A TARGET OR SCRAPPED.

THIS IS THE END OF PART TWO, WILL IT BE THE END OF A FINE CLASS OF SHIPS?


PLEASE PASS THIS TO ANY AND ALL FORMER ADAMS CLASS CREW MEMBERS.

IF ANYONE HAS INFORMATION YOU FEEL NEEDS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE UPDATE, PLEASE EMAIL ME THAT INFO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

George,
Some of the new stuff in the Barney newsletter is stuff I wrote but did not send to the Barney group. Someone forwarded it to them and I guess that is OK.

The last email I got from NavSea Donation Program stated that there was only one ship on donation hold and that was the way it was going to stay. The lady at NavSea said the Navy had no desire to place a second Adams Class ship in Donation Hold status. The same lady also told me that the head of the Miami-Dade museum no longer had interest in the Barney. That leads me to believe that the Barney group is trying very hard to get the right person interested enough to either change the Navy's mind or change the Miami-Dade museum's mind.

I managed to acquire an email address of one of the directors of the Saginaw Valley group of Bay City and sent him an email asking for an answer on just which ship the group was now after. This man is the editor of the Bay City Times. No answer yet.

I sent another email to our contact at Battleship Cove in Boston and asked for his advice on what needs to be our highest priority if the Saginaw Valley group has given up for good on the Adams. No answer yet.

Still writing an email to NavSea to see if Saginaw Valley has told them anything.

I am still confused as to just how many Adams Class ships are still in Philly. NavSea said three, Adams DDG-2, Lawrence DDG-4, Barney DDG-6. Someone and I can't remember who, said that the Sellers is still there also. The other real important question at this point is, the condition of each of these ships. Is the Adams a basket case or the best of the lot? Is, as we were told several months ago, the Sellers the best if she is still there? My personal feeling is that we need to go after the ship that is in the best shape to begin with. The less work the ship needs the less money will be spent on just getting her to look good.

I still think someone, a small group of 3-4-5, needs to gain access to all the Adams ships in Philly and take pictures and video and then write a report so the entire group knows where we stand.

Is there anyone anywhere close enough to Philly to do this for us?

Are any of you getting feedback from anyone as to how they feel about this effort?

Tom Crosser

TO ALL,
I have had one main idea about raising money for the Adams or other Adams Class Ship. I would start with all the companies that made parts for the ships. Not just the big outfits like the ship builder, reduction gear, generators, switchboards, etc, but all the little ones too. Research who provided the batteries for the gig and backup for the ships telephone system. Who built the steam tables in the galley, the big lights for the battle dressing stations, the washer and dryer in the laundry. Look topside at searchlights, signal flags, radar, radios. Who sold us the oil for the boilers, the diesel for the emergency generators, the canvas for any number of uses. Invite these companies to become a part of the total story of the Adams Class Ships. Put their names on plaques, in a handouts for visitors. Tell the story of tech reps who traveled to Subic, to rebuild the Asroc launcher control station on the Buchanan when the shore power connection box blew. I am sure each ship has a story to tell about a company that provided that extra bit of help to keep the ship in the fight.

A lot of the companies are still getting contracts from Uncle and would love the extra publicity. The same goes for the things we will need as we put the ship back together. Sears could be asked to provide tools in exchange for filming a commercial on board. Again I will mention the History Channel and their Save Our History/Save Our Ships series of programs. I can see all of us now, telling how we saved one of our ships in front of the TV cameras.

The ideas are as many as there are former Adams Class crew members.

JUST ADDED A FEW NEW NAMES TO MY EMAIL LIST, ANYONE WHO IS NOT SURE WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT, EMAIL ME AND I WILL FILL YOU IN.

Tom Crosser

TO ALL,

I GOT THIS EMAIL FROM OUR FRIEND, RICH ANGELINI, IN FALL RIVER, MASS. RICH IS ASST. CURATOR AT BATTLESHIP COVE NAVAL PARK. RICH HANDLES THE USS JOSEPH P. KENNEDY JR. DD-850. RICH HAD AN ARTICLE IN OUR CONFEDERATION NEWSLETTER LAST FALL (2002). HE HAS ALSO ANSWERED SEVERAL EMAILS I SENT ASKING GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT SAVING AN ADAMS CLASS SHIP.

<font color="blue">Tom,

Yes, I have been following the Edson situation as close as possible. Heard a rumor someone in the lakes was interested but didnt know it was Saginaw. Edson is in much better condition than Adams so it would be easier for them to operate with a ship already intact for the most part. However, another group in Baltimore is trying to get Forrest Sherman DD931 saved. That would mean four destroyers of the same class preserved while NO Adams or Farragut class DDGs are saved. Thats just wrong.

I would first find out for sure (and rather quickly) what the status of this Saginaw group is. If they have no intentions of saving Adams now, then let someone know. At least then another effort can be made. My opinion is they are playing the waiting game trying to see if they get Edson.. cause if they dont , they will fall back on Adams. However, TWO groups can bid for the same ship..meaning you could form a group to acquire Adams right now. Whoever gets the money, berth, and act together first for the Navy gets the ship. They just want her to be taken care of. If you folks are unhappy with Saginaw and think you can do better, then you can make a effort to save Adams.

To quickly answer your questions:
1. The Navy will either keep the ship on donation hold or scrap it if no interest in that vessel exists if a group quit to save it.

2. Navsea will let another group take their place or will allow more than one competitor. Dont forget that there were three groups trying to get Missouri. The guys in Pearl got their act together and got the ship. You can compete directly with Saginaw.

3. If I were in your place, I would look at the Saginaw situation closely right now. Determine if you think they have a real commitment to Adams and the REAL chance of getting the vessel. If not, it may be wise to form a second group to obtain the ship. You will need to form a organization for that ship as well as find public support for that vessel to be berthed somewhere. Money, berthing, etc is all important. Get a group together of people from various sister ships to help organize a concerted effort. Find out the scoop in Baltimore... they might be interested in Adams more than Sherman and you can bring her there. I think its the Baltimore Maritime Museum. Adams is something different to see cause you can currently go to Washington DC and see Shermans sister... why do I need to go to Baltimore to see Sherman? What makes her unique? Nothing beside the hull number. Plus Sherman is is worse shape than Adams. I think you can make a go of it. However, if Baltimore doesnt work out.... stay out of the Northeast cause it is very competitive..too many ships.

You need to call Gloria and discuss the steps needed to acquire ADAMS. I would find out the scoop on Saginaw first as best you can and then create a initial group to save Adams. Then contact Gloria and find out the steps needed to get the ship. Then seek support, etc to be successful. You can do alot of this at the same time by giving the jobs out to committee members.

Forget about the Barney, she is a empty hull right now. Lawrence is better, and I havent been on Adams to tell you. Sellers was the best I saw besides recently scrapped Sampson. Recent news shows that Sellers was just towed to Metro Machine Scrap in Philly to be cut up. However, she has not been touched yet. If youacted really quickly, you could inspect Adams and then Sellers... maybe the Navy would let a group switch Adams off for Sellers on the donation list. That would have to happen quick though. More likely, you will be stuck with Adams but you still have soem luck. After you guys put a request in for the ship and start your effort... actively strip Lawrence and Barney of everything and try to complete one ship via the three. Fill up Adam's holds with spares parts for 20-30 years down the line.

The time to act is now. By the end of next year, I highly doubt Barney and Lawrence will still exist. We have seen four-five Adams class ship go for scrap in the past two years. At the very least, get a group started and get your name into the Navy as a interested party in Adams. Let it be known she is loved.</font id="blue">

I SENT AN EMAIL TO GLORIA AT NAVSEA EVEN BEFORE I GOT HIS EMAIL. WHEN I HEAR FROM HER I WILL PASS THAT ALONG TO ALL OF THE GROUP.

TRYING TO KEEP EVERYONE INFORMED, I HAVE AT LEAST TWO PEOPLE FROM ALL 23 ADAMS CLASS SHIPS EXCEPT FOR:

DDG-5, DDG-8, DDG-10, DDG-13, DDG-18, DDG-21, DDG-22.

I WOULD LIKE TO ADD AT LEAST ONE MORE EMAIL ADDRESS FOR THOSE SEVEN SHIPS. ANYONE HAVE ANOTHER "GOOD" EMAIL ADDRESS FOR ANY OF THESE SHIPS?


THERE ARE NO EMAIL ADDRESSES FOR THE HENRY B. WILSON DDG-7 OR THE ROBISON DDG-12 ON OUR CONFEDERATION SITE. CAN ANYONE HELP HERE?

ANYONE HAVE ANOTHER GOOD EMAIL ADDRESS FOR ANY OF THESE SHIPS?

TOM CROSSER

<font color="red">(Two others from COCHRANE are now on the email list. If anyone else wants to be added to this list, let me know)

John</font id="red">

TO ALL,
HERE IS AN UPDATE THAT CAME IN FROM TIM NIGHTINGALE AND A FEW OTHERS.

FOR THOSE NEW ON THIS EMAIL LIST, WE BELIEVE THE SAGINAW VALLEY GROUP IN BAY CITY, MI. HAS DROPPED THEIR EFFORT TO SAVE THE USS ADAMS DDG-2 IN FAVOR OF THE USS EDSON DD-946. THE EDSON IS CURRENTLY AT THE USS INTREPID MUSEUM IN NEW YORK.

REPEATED EMAILS TO THE SAGINAW VALLEY GROUP HAVE NOT BEEN RETURNED. SEVERAL FRIENDS OF OUR ADAMS CLASS DDG CONFEDERATION HAVE TOLD US THAT THIS INFO IS CORRECT.

I ALSO HAVE AN EMAIL OUT TO THE NAVSEA SHIP DONATION PROGRAM ASKING FOR CONFIRMATION OF THIS INFO. I HAVE ALSO ASKED NAVSEA FOR INFO ON TAKING THE PLACE OF THE SAGINAW VALLEY GROUP AND FOR PERMISSION TO SEND AN INSPECTION TEAM TO PHILLY TO PHOTOGRAPH AND VIDEO TAPE THE REMAINING ADAMS CLASS SHIPS LOCATED THERE. THESE PHOTOS AND VIDEO WOULD THEN BE USED TO WRITE A REPORT TO BE SHARED WITH ALL SHIPS. KNOWING FIRST HAND JUST WHAT IS NEED ON EACH SHIP WILL ALLOW US TO MAKE AN INFORMED CHOICE AS TO WHICH SHIP IS THE BEST FOR PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION.

FOR THE RECORD, THERE IS ANOTHER GROUP TRYING TO SAVE THE USS BARNEY DDG-6 AND PUT HER IN THE MIAMI-DADE MUSEUM BUT THE BARNEY IN NOT IN A "DONATION HOLD STATUS" LIKE THE ADAMS IS. I HAVE BEEN TOLD BY NAVSEA THAT THE NAVY HAS NO DESIRE TO PLACE A SECOND ADAMS CLASS SHIP ON HOLD.

THE GREEK NAVY STILL HAS 4 EX-ADAMS CLASS SHIPS, ONE STILL IN SERVICE TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE. THERE IS SOME TALK ABOUT TRYING TO BRING THE LAST ONE HOME AFTER DECOM. SOME THINK A SHIP FRESH FROM SERVICE MIGHT BE IN BETTER SHAPE THAN ONE THAT HAS BEEN IN STORAGE FOR 10-12 YEARS.

SEVERAL OF YOU HAVE OFFERED TO JOIN THE TEAM AND VISIT THE SHIPS IN PHILLY IF WE GET THE OK. I AM KEEPING A LIST AND WILL LET EVERYONE KNOW IF WE GET THAT OK.

PLEASE REMEMBER THE ORIGINAL TEAM THAT STARTED THE ADAMS CLASS DDG CONFEDERATION, THEY ARE THE ONES WHO KEPT THE SPARK ALIVE.
THOSE FOUR ARE:
RICK BENNETT OF DDG-24, LEN GORDON OF DDG-17, GREG RICHESON OF DDG-24, AND DAVE MALONE OF DDG-14.

EDSON UPDATE

Good afternoon to all!

Gil asked me to provide an update on EDSON.

First she is still pier side, but not being toured. All Museum specific material has been removed, EDSON valuables have been removed, and finally Tin Can Sailor material has been removed. She is ready for dry dock. Once in dry dock we will assess her hull and go forward from there. I’m confident that some areas will require repair. Following hull repair and release from the Brooklyn Navy Yard we will put EDSON valuables back on the ship.

Intrepid Museum has formally requested that the US Navy take custody of EDSON so that we can make the necessary preparations for our extensive pier repair. Additionally, the Navy is evaluating requests from several cities who want EDSON at their museum. It might work out that a particular city takes EDSON pending a short stay in Philadelphia. Although this is all tentative, I expect a decision one way or the other after we determine the condition of EDSON’s hull. The bottom line is that EDSON (assuming repairs are economical---most likely scenario) EDSON will soon fine a home and with the repairs complete she will continue to provide enjoyment to the public and remain a source of pride for all who have served on her.

All the bests!

FROM ALL EMAIL I AM GETTING, I SEE THE DESIRE TO HELP IN THIS EFFORT IS ALIVE AND WELL WITHIN OUR GROUP OF FORMER ADAMS CLASS CREW MEMBERS.

THERE IS SOME WORK THAT I DO NOT FEEL QUALIFIED TO HANDLE AT THIS POINT. WE NEED SOMEONE WITH LEGAL KNOWLEDGE TO READ OVER THE INFORMATION AT THE NAVSEA, SHIP DONATION PROGRAM SITE AND THEN LEAD THE GROUP IN FORMATION OF AND THE INCORPARATION OF OUR GROUP.

GETTING BACK TO OUR ORIGINAL FOUR FOUNDERS, DO EITHER OF YOU HAVE THIS KNOWLEDGE OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO CAN DONATE (AT LEAST FOR NOW) TIME TO THIS PART OF OUR EFFORT?

FOR THE ENTIRE GROUP, DO WE HAVE A LAWYER OF RETIRED LAWYER WHO WANTS TO TAKE ON THIS JOB?

TOM CROSSER